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Entrepreneurs and investors used to rely on strictly qualitative/gut methods of assessing progress and deciding what their next steps should be. In 2014 the great Steve Blank gave the startup world its first widely-respected quantitative assessment system: the Investment Readiness Level (IRL). A few years later Village Capital took the IRL to the next level, creating the Venture Investment and ReAdiness Level (VIRAL). MORE
The venture capital community reacted to the racial reckoning the country experienced in June in ways I felt were pretty underwhelming—one-time pitch events for Black founders or promises to only meet with Black founders for a month. The other day, I was telling an experienced founder in a particular vertical—someone who sold a company and IPO’d another, about what we were doing. MORE
Techstars co-founder Brad Feld and Techstars mentor Jason Mendelson—both renowned venture capitalists, partners at the Foundry Group, and authors of Venture Deals: Be Smarter Than Your Lawyer and Venture Capitalist —are again giving their FREE online course Venture Deals. How do venture deals really work? Whether you’re an entrepreneur raising funds or an investor looking to take your venture finance skills to the next level, Brad Feld and Jason Mendelson have the answers for you. MORE
Just the immediate priorities seem to take up more than one person’s potential working hours—so it’s no surprise that when it comes to something like social media, many founders have trouble making it a priority. The consequences of failing to position a founder’s profile aren’t always obvious—and it’s usually all about missed opportunities. Some founders get more press, get speaking opportunities or have an easier time fundraising thanks to leads that started with social media. MORE
All Founders International Programs accelerator program founders international founders startup foundersThe following post is written by Nato Chakvetadze, Program Associate for 500Georgia. Gavin: Here everything is so expensive. Look at the numbers. If we move to Georgia, we can save a fortune and get a further investment. It's the only way. Denpok: Well, I have heard good things about the food scene in the Dirty South. Hoover: Stankonia. Freaknik. MORE
The post Look Outside of Silicon Valley to See How Founders Can Be Successful Post-Covid-19 appeared first on 500 Startups. Founders International Covid-19 entrepreneurs global ecosystems innovation500 Startups kicked off a new series called Innovation Coffee Breaks. Experts from leading companies, venture capital firms and startups join us every week to discuss how to innovate during this time of uncertainty. MORE
Here are six steps to find the right co-founder for your startup: Determine whether or not having a co-founder is necessary. The very first step in this process is to ask yourself if you even need a co-founder in the first place. Sure, your idea might need someone with technical experience (of which you may not have any), but does that mean you need a technical co-founder? Evaluate the primary reasons you’re looking for a co-founder. MORE
Yesterday, I met with a founder with an interesting model who was raising $400k to bring the finishing touches to her product to make it customer-ready. In fact, the only founder I've ever seen completely run the table for a multi-million dollar seed round based off of a Powerpoint is Chantel Waterbury of chloe + isabel. This blog post is not about debating if "enough" diverse founders get funding--whatever that might mean. MORE
Over the past few months, the GAN Community came together to support startup founders who have been deeply impacted by the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. Startup life is hard enough; now, the pandemic has left many founders in an impossible position. MORE
Ai-Ling Wong—founder at The Decorateur. Alex Louey—founder and managing director at Appscore . Andrea Grisdale—founder and CEO at IC Bellagio. David Fastuca—founder at Ambisie and founder at Locomote. Demi Markogiannaki—founder at WeTeachMe. MORE
You get to have interesting conversations with founders and review business plans and then see how these businesses evolve over the years. 1/ From vantage point of being able to see hundreds of companies, good & bad I have some advice for founders - Get to know and love "gross margin." " Revenue doesn't pay your bills, GM does — @msuster 2/ Founders obsess with revenue as a vanity metric. MORE
In 2018, Leslie Feinzaig , the founder of Female Founders Alliance , launched a free, equity-free accelerator for women called Ready, Set, Raise. The goal was to provide under-networked female founders the coaching and connections needed to raise money. MORE
Black, Indigenous, people of color, women, and LGBTQ+ founders have always had to do more with less. It comes as no surprise that founders with these identities face unfair and significant obstacles when going to market, scaling, and competing in the marketplace. Yet, consumers with purchasing power are getting younger and more racially diverse every year, creating a huge market opportunity for startup founders who deeply understand this under-served group. MORE
When GAN Ventures considers whether to invest in a startup, we look for four primary things: Authentic founders: Founders that know their own strengths and weaknesses and aren’t afraid to ask for help. Passionate founders: Founders that joyfully know more about their market than most people would think is normal to know about anything. Authentic founders communicate what’s going on with themselves. MORE
In this program, founders are connected to the CIOs of the top banks, brokerages, and insurance companies in NYC as they work on their products and pitches. And then there is the newest one, the Transit Tech Accelerator , where founders who are building transit companies are connected to the leading transit systems in the NY Metro area while they work on their products and pitches. NYC’s Partnership runs some outstanding accelerator programs. MORE
Leading Student Entrepreneurs to Pitch and Meet Founder Mentors at 3rd Annual Blackstone LaunchPad powered by Techstars Convening. Student participants at the event will hear from world-class speakers including Jon Gray, Blackstone president and chief operating officer, Josh Hix, Plated co-founder, Kathryn Minshew, co-founder of The Muse , and Neil Blumenthal, who co-founded Warby Parker while in school. . MORE
Doing so means getting a lot of things right, and one of the most critical is that founders receive the correct support while they’re in-program. While accelerators tend to do a great job of asking founders questions that help to ensure startups are the right fit for their programs, I don’t think that founders always do the same. Building a community of other founders they can work alongside, who really get what it’s like. MORE
Economists Pierre Azoulay, Benjamin Jones, Daniel Kim, and Javier Miranda, analyzed administrative government data on the founders of all U.S. Below is the average founder age along these dimensions: All companies (with at least one employee): 42 years Fastest growing 0.1% MORE
Nowhere is the politics more difficult than with co-founders, which is why for years I’ve spoken publicly about “ the co-founder mythology.” ” Of course we all go into businesses expecting to be aligned with our co-founders but over time life changes. One founder has more risk tolerance and the other wants to be conservative. What should the financial settlement be for the founder leaves be? MORE
Last week I spotted this annotated twitter thread from Fred Destin , which he kicked off with a simple question : As founders-turned-VCs, Aviel and I have always relied on the “golden rule” principle — treating founders the way we wish we had been treated when we were in their shoes — when deciding how to build our own firm here at Founders’ Co-op. Ideas that start out bad often get better over time as founders learn and adapt. MORE
Jason sat down with Steve Barsh , Managing Partner of Dreamit, to give founders relevant downturn strategies. Jason answers critical questions for founders, including: How can your company ensure survival? How to survive now so you can thrive later When Jason speaks with founders, he looks for specific qualities that indicate they have what it takes to survive. Your primary job as a founder is to save the business. MORE
Here’s the thing, though: We know that an uneven amount of dollars go to founders in major tech hubs—the Londons and San Franciscos of the world. And, three years into running our fund at GAN Ventures, with over 25 investments (almost exclusively in founders operating in cities like the ones I just mentioned), we’ve seen investment markups on a full third of our portfolio. Most founders in smaller cities are already leaders in their communities. (It’s MORE
While I got some very kind words on my recent writings , I heard from some founders that didn't feel like they got treated fairly—specifically around feeling patronized or dismissed—and that I wasn't showing enough action to improve on that. It’s easy in my position to forget how much courage it takes to pitch something for any founder—but especially founders for whom stepping out and taking this kind of risk feels like it comes with a bigger downside. MORE
I’m excited to announce the Founder Support Fund. It’s an evergreen microgrant-making fund dedicated to supporting founders’ mental and emotional health and well-being. And many startup founders have been particularly affected by the stress and unknowns of this time. . 94% of founders have experienced severe anxiety, depression, or other mental health challenges. “No Now, let’s support the people behind those businesses— founders. MORE
We are proud to share that Seraf Co-founder Christopher Mirabile was recently appointed to the SEC's Investor Advisory Committee. Christopher serves as the Chair Emeritus of the Angel Capital Association and Senior Managing Director of Launchpad Venture Group, and wholeheartedly understands the complexities around investing in early stage companies MORE
As we tell our founders at 1000 Angels , the private investor network that connects startups with investors, time management is an important component of any business, but when it comes to launching a startup it is even more critical. Founder WisdomBy Michael Whitehouse. Photo credit: huffpost.com. MORE
In almost every single investment I’ve ever made, I can think of a singular moment in my relationship with a founder that, no matter what came before or what might come after, defined our relationship. Often times, it came in a very vulnerable and down moment for the founder—perhaps they just lost out on a big opportunity, had someone from the team leave, or they’re running low on capital before sales have come around. MORE
As I said in this post , I am generally a “one share one vote proponent”, but I have supported founder control provisions in a few companies where I was or am on the board. The founder had a 10:1 supervoting provision and controlled a majority of the board seats. But I can only imagine that WeWork was running out of cash and needed funds from its existing investors and the founder had to cede all of that to keep the company afloat. MORE
Venture firms wanted to meet talented Black founders but didn’t know where to start to find them. “I gotta say it was a good day.” I’m so fricking pumped today. Really, truly. Yeah, Valence announced > $5 million in funding led by GGV and Upfront. That IS a big deal, but I’ll get to that. MORE
Studies show that diversity is key to sparking innovation and developing holistic solutions in early-stage ventures, The post expanding equity in STEM innovation: showcasing female founders of color appeared first on VentureWell. Innovation and entrepreneurship are fundamental drivers of economic growth. MORE
500 actively invested in founders who were diverse or were building for diverse customers; we shunned manels by making sure to feature female speakers at our events, so that it wasn’t predominantly men doing the talking. The post Why Investing in Female Founders Matters Now More Than Ever appeared first on 500 Startups. Announcements Diversity Founders Venture Capital Investing covid19 diversity female founders Inclusion MORE
If founder salaries are supposed to be no more than some set number, how does that work if a founder is a single mom with three kids and a mortgage. For example, if Katrina Lake, the founder of Stitch Fix, went off to start a new company, pretty much any investor would give her a blank check to do it. On the other hand, do you think that same number is the primary motivating factor for the black female founder, weather she, too, went to Harvard and can code or not. MORE
Last week The Exchange dug into recent data concerning the amount of venture capital raised by female founders. In Q3 2020, PitchBook data reported that US-based female founders raised $434 million across 136 rounds. MORE
In Y Combinator’s early days, founders would move to Palo Alto, split a two-bedroom with five others to save money and trade notes around the clock with their new, like-minded roommates. Now that they can work from literally anywhere, many entrepreneurs are forming homes with other founders. MORE
On November 18, we are hosting our first Future Founders Conference for women who aspire to become a startup founder. Speakers include: Jessica Livingston, Co-founder of Y Combinator. Jess Lee, Founder of Polyvore , Partner at Sequoia Capital. MORE
We recently invested in a team of co-founders who had voluntarily made their own vesting longer than four years. Their answer: “These days, with companies taking seven to 10 years to reach exit, it would make sense for founders to be on a similar schedule.” Jake Jolis. MORE
I've heard a lot of VCs tell founders they need co-founders--and that they wouldn't look at a business at a very early stage without a co-founder. A lot of accelerators treat solo founders the same way--making it an implied requirement to participate. I don't think you can get into YC with this kind of "Godfather"-type co-founder as your partner if they're not going to be there day in and day out. but you do need a team. MORE
If you haven’t yet heard about Female Founder Office Hours it is an initiative you should be aware of whether you’re male, female or any other gender identify. I want to outline why I think this is such an important initiative but first want to be sure you know that my partner Kara Nortman and my friend Eva Ho are hosting the next Female Founder Office Hours in our offices on March 13 and you can sign up here ? MORE
founder Related Topics GAN
MAY 6, 2020
I’m excited to announce the Founder Support Fund. It’s an evergreen microgrant-making fund dedicated to supporting founders’ mental and emotional health and well-being. And many startup founders have been particularly affected by the stress and unknowns of this time. . 94% of founders have experienced severe anxiety, depression, or other mental health challenges. “No Now, let’s support the people behind those businesses— founders.
GAN
JULY 29, 2020
Over the past few months, the GAN Community came together to support startup founders who have been deeply impacted by the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. Startup life is hard enough; now, the pandemic has left many founders in an impossible position.
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500
APRIL 28, 2020
500 actively invested in founders who were diverse or were building for diverse customers; we shunned manels by making sure to feature female speakers at our events, so that it wasn’t predominantly men doing the talking. The post Why Investing in Female Founders Matters Now More Than Ever appeared first on 500 Startups. Announcements Diversity Founders Venture Capital Investing covid19 diversity female founders Inclusion
A VC: Musings of a VC in NYC
SEPTEMBER 26, 2019
As I said in this post , I am generally a “one share one vote proponent”, but I have supported founder control provisions in a few companies where I was or am on the board. The founder had a 10:1 supervoting provision and controlled a majority of the board seats. But I can only imagine that WeWork was running out of cash and needed funds from its existing investors and the founder had to cede all of that to keep the company afloat.
GAN
FEBRUARY 11, 2020
Doing so means getting a lot of things right, and one of the most critical is that founders receive the correct support while they’re in-program. While accelerators tend to do a great job of asking founders questions that help to ensure startups are the right fit for their programs, I don’t think that founders always do the same. Building a community of other founders they can work alongside, who really get what it’s like.
GAN
OCTOBER 9, 2019
Here’s the thing, though: We know that an uneven amount of dollars go to founders in major tech hubs—the Londons and San Franciscos of the world. And, three years into running our fund at GAN Ventures, with over 25 investments (almost exclusively in founders operating in cities like the ones I just mentioned), we’ve seen investment markups on a full third of our portfolio. Most founders in smaller cities are already leaders in their communities. (It’s
|
TechCrunch
OCTOBER 16, 2020
Last week The Exchange dug into recent data concerning the amount of venture capital raised by female founders. In Q3 2020, PitchBook data reported that US-based female founders raised $434 million across 136 rounds.
Entrepreneurs' Organization
AUGUST 27, 2020
Ai-Ling Wong—founder at The Decorateur. Alex Louey—founder and managing director at Appscore . Andrea Grisdale—founder and CEO at IC Bellagio. David Fastuca—founder at Ambisie and founder at Locomote. Demi Markogiannaki—founder at WeTeachMe.
Y Combinator
OCTOBER 15, 2020
On November 18, we are hosting our first Future Founders Conference for women who aspire to become a startup founder. Speakers include: Jessica Livingston, Co-founder of Y Combinator. Jess Lee, Founder of Polyvore , Partner at Sequoia Capital.
This is going to be BIG.
OCTOBER 22, 2018
In almost every single investment I’ve ever made, I can think of a singular moment in my relationship with a founder that, no matter what came before or what might come after, defined our relationship. Often times, it came in a very vulnerable and down moment for the founder—perhaps they just lost out on a big opportunity, had someone from the team leave, or they’re running low on capital before sales have come around.
GAN
MAY 22, 2019
When GAN Ventures considers whether to invest in a startup, we look for four primary things: Authentic founders: Founders that know their own strengths and weaknesses and aren’t afraid to ask for help. Passionate founders: Founders that joyfully know more about their market than most people would think is normal to know about anything. Authentic founders communicate what’s going on with themselves.
|
A VC: Musings of a VC in NYC
NOVEMBER 4, 2019
In this program, founders are connected to the CIOs of the top banks, brokerages, and insurance companies in NYC as they work on their products and pitches. And then there is the newest one, the Transit Tech Accelerator , where founders who are building transit companies are connected to the leading transit systems in the NY Metro area while they work on their products and pitches. NYC’s Partnership runs some outstanding accelerator programs.
500
MAY 8, 2020
The post Look Outside of Silicon Valley to See How Founders Can Be Successful Post-Covid-19 appeared first on 500 Startups. Founders International Covid-19 entrepreneurs global ecosystems innovation500 Startups kicked off a new series called Innovation Coffee Breaks. Experts from leading companies, venture capital firms and startups join us every week to discuss how to innovate during this time of uncertainty.
This is going to be BIG.
JUNE 9, 2020
While I got some very kind words on my recent writings , I heard from some founders that didn't feel like they got treated fairly—specifically around feeling patronized or dismissed—and that I wasn't showing enough action to improve on that. It’s easy in my position to forget how much courage it takes to pitch something for any founder—but especially founders for whom stepping out and taking this kind of risk feels like it comes with a bigger downside.
TechCrunch
OCTOBER 15, 2020
In Y Combinator’s early days, founders would move to Palo Alto, split a two-bedroom with five others to save money and trade notes around the clock with their new, like-minded roommates. Now that they can work from literally anywhere, many entrepreneurs are forming homes with other founders.
Founders Coop
MAY 18, 2020
Last week I spotted this annotated twitter thread from Fred Destin , which he kicked off with a simple question : As founders-turned-VCs, Aviel and I have always relied on the “golden rule” principle — treating founders the way we wish we had been treated when we were in their shoes — when deciding how to build our own firm here at Founders’ Co-op. Ideas that start out bad often get better over time as founders learn and adapt.
Both Sides of the Table
AUGUST 11, 2020
Venture firms wanted to meet talented Black founders but didn’t know where to start to find them. “I gotta say it was a good day.” I’m so fricking pumped today. Really, truly. Yeah, Valence announced > $5 million in funding led by GGV and Upfront. That IS a big deal, but I’ll get to that.
500
MAY 22, 2020
All Founders International Programs accelerator program founders international founders startup foundersThe following post is written by Nato Chakvetadze, Program Associate for 500Georgia. Gavin: Here everything is so expensive. Look at the numbers. If we move to Georgia, we can save a fortune and get a further investment. It's the only way. Denpok: Well, I have heard good things about the food scene in the Dirty South. Hoover: Stankonia. Freaknik.
Venture Well
JUNE 30, 2020
Studies show that diversity is key to sparking innovation and developing holistic solutions in early-stage ventures, The post expanding equity in STEM innovation: showcasing female founders of color appeared first on VentureWell. Innovation and entrepreneurship are fundamental drivers of economic growth.
This is going to be BIG.
FEBRUARY 24, 2020
If founder salaries are supposed to be no more than some set number, how does that work if a founder is a single mom with three kids and a mortgage. For example, if Katrina Lake, the founder of Stitch Fix, went off to start a new company, pretty much any investor would give her a blank check to do it. On the other hand, do you think that same number is the primary motivating factor for the black female founder, weather she, too, went to Harvard and can code or not.
This is going to be BIG.
JULY 8, 2019
Just the immediate priorities seem to take up more than one person’s potential working hours—so it’s no surprise that when it comes to something like social media, many founders have trouble making it a priority. The consequences of failing to position a founder’s profile aren’t always obvious—and it’s usually all about missed opportunities. Some founders get more press, get speaking opportunities or have an easier time fundraising thanks to leads that started with social media.
GAN
JULY 14, 2020
Black, Indigenous, people of color, women, and LGBTQ+ founders have always had to do more with less. It comes as no surprise that founders with these identities face unfair and significant obstacles when going to market, scaling, and competing in the marketplace. Yet, consumers with purchasing power are getting younger and more racially diverse every year, creating a huge market opportunity for startup founders who deeply understand this under-served group.
StartupNation
OCTOBER 14, 2020
Here are six steps to find the right co-founder for your startup: Determine whether or not having a co-founder is necessary. The very first step in this process is to ask yourself if you even need a co-founder in the first place. Sure, your idea might need someone with technical experience (of which you may not have any), but does that mean you need a technical co-founder? Evaluate the primary reasons you’re looking for a co-founder.
Both Sides of the Table
JULY 17, 2018
You get to have interesting conversations with founders and review business plans and then see how these businesses evolve over the years. 1/ From vantage point of being able to see hundreds of companies, good & bad I have some advice for founders - Get to know and love "gross margin." " Revenue doesn't pay your bills, GM does — @msuster 2/ Founders obsess with revenue as a vanity metric.
Dream It
APRIL 8, 2020
Jason sat down with Steve Barsh , Managing Partner of Dreamit, to give founders relevant downturn strategies. Jason answers critical questions for founders, including: How can your company ensure survival? How to survive now so you can thrive later When Jason speaks with founders, he looks for specific qualities that indicate they have what it takes to survive. Your primary job as a founder is to save the business.
TechCrunch
OCTOBER 19, 2020
In 2018, Leslie Feinzaig , the founder of Female Founders Alliance , launched a free, equity-free accelerator for women called Ready, Set, Raise. The goal was to provide under-networked female founders the coaching and connections needed to raise money.
Onevest
MARCH 31, 2015
As we tell our founders at 1000 Angels , the private investor network that connects startups with investors, time management is an important component of any business, but when it comes to launching a startup it is even more critical. Founder WisdomBy Michael Whitehouse. Photo credit: huffpost.com.
Both Sides of the Table
JANUARY 4, 2014
Nowhere is the politics more difficult than with co-founders, which is why for years I’ve spoken publicly about “ the co-founder mythology.” ” Of course we all go into businesses expecting to be aligned with our co-founders but over time life changes. One founder has more risk tolerance and the other wants to be conservative. What should the financial settlement be for the founder leaves be?
This is going to be BIG.
AUGUST 16, 2020
The venture capital community reacted to the racial reckoning the country experienced in June in ways I felt were pretty underwhelming—one-time pitch events for Black founders or promises to only meet with Black founders for a month. The other day, I was telling an experienced founder in a particular vertical—someone who sold a company and IPO’d another, about what we were doing.
Paul G. Silva
MAY 29, 2020
Entrepreneurs and investors used to rely on strictly qualitative/gut methods of assessing progress and deciding what their next steps should be. In 2014 the great Steve Blank gave the startup world its first widely-respected quantitative assessment system: the Investment Readiness Level (IRL). A few years later Village Capital took the IRL to the next level, creating the Venture Investment and ReAdiness Level (VIRAL).
This is going to be BIG.
NOVEMBER 1, 2016
Yesterday, I met with a founder with an interesting model who was raising $400k to bring the finishing touches to her product to make it customer-ready. In fact, the only founder I've ever seen completely run the table for a multi-million dollar seed round based off of a Powerpoint is Chantel Waterbury of chloe + isabel. This blog post is not about debating if "enough" diverse founders get funding--whatever that might mean.
This is going to be BIG.
JUNE 5, 2016
I've heard a lot of VCs tell founders they need co-founders--and that they wouldn't look at a business at a very early stage without a co-founder. A lot of accelerators treat solo founders the same way--making it an implied requirement to participate. I don't think you can get into YC with this kind of "Godfather"-type co-founder as your partner if they're not going to be there day in and day out. but you do need a team.
TechStars
OCTOBER 28, 2019
Leading Student Entrepreneurs to Pitch and Meet Founder Mentors at 3rd Annual Blackstone LaunchPad powered by Techstars Convening. Student participants at the event will hear from world-class speakers including Jon Gray, Blackstone president and chief operating officer, Josh Hix, Plated co-founder, Kathryn Minshew, co-founder of The Muse , and Neil Blumenthal, who co-founded Warby Parker while in school. .
Both Sides of the Table
FEBRUARY 14, 2018
If you haven’t yet heard about Female Founder Office Hours it is an initiative you should be aware of whether you’re male, female or any other gender identify. I want to outline why I think this is such an important initiative but first want to be sure you know that my partner Kara Nortman and my friend Eva Ho are hosting the next Female Founder Office Hours in our offices on March 13 and you can sign up here ?
The Seraf Compass
JUNE 3, 2020
We are proud to share that Seraf Co-founder Christopher Mirabile was recently appointed to the SEC's Investor Advisory Committee. Christopher serves as the Chair Emeritus of the Angel Capital Association and Senior Managing Director of Launchpad Venture Group, and wholeheartedly understands the complexities around investing in early stage companies
TechStars
MARCH 20, 2019
Techstars co-founder Brad Feld and Techstars mentor Jason Mendelson—both renowned venture capitalists, partners at the Foundry Group, and authors of Venture Deals: Be Smarter Than Your Lawyer and Venture Capitalist —are again giving their FREE online course Venture Deals. How do venture deals really work? Whether you’re an entrepreneur raising funds or an investor looking to take your venture finance skills to the next level, Brad Feld and Jason Mendelson have the answers for you.
Ian Hathaway
JANUARY 6, 2020
Economists Pierre Azoulay, Benjamin Jones, Daniel Kim, and Javier Miranda, analyzed administrative government data on the founders of all U.S. Below is the average founder age along these dimensions: All companies (with at least one employee): 42 years Fastest growing 0.1%
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